And as Smoker had instructed, the marine ship began steadily moving closer towards the Minnow Pirates' ship, all the while continuously firing their cannons without pause. But all of this was far from easy. The Minnow Pirates immediately started retaliating, launching their own cannons toward the marine ship. Most of the cannonballs fell harmlessly in front of the marine ship, ultimately missing their target entirely, but a few of the cannonballs came close enough to actually threaten the ship. In those moments, Smoker immediately reacted. He turned into smoke — his legs dissolving into swirling smoke, giving him propulsion like a rocket — and with his weapon, the Seastone jitte, he skillfully deflected every incoming cannonball, sending them tumbling into the sea and effectively protecting the marine ship from damage.
Due to the marines' continuous and relentless bombardment, the main mast of the Minnow Pirates' ship cracked under the pressure and collapsed entirely into the sea. Seeing this catastrophic damage, Finn, the captain, shouted in frustration, "Damn it! Which marine officer is attacking us, and why is he so unbelievably fierce?"
Meanwhile, Gojo, who was trapped inside the dark, enclosed room, was continuously listening to the commotion above and muttered to himself, "Are the enemies of the Minnow Pirates really going to sink this ship? If that happens, it will be extremely bad for me, and escaping from this place will become much more difficult than I had anticipated. What I need to do immediately is break this gate that stands in front of me so that, even if this ship sinks entirely, I will still be able to escape from this location while swimming. This plan, in a sense, aligns with my previous escape strategy, but with just a few minor adjustments to account for the current circumstances."
But again, just as he was about to move toward the gate, suddenly, with a loud, thunderous boom, the gate of his room was blasted apart. A shower of wooden chips flew toward him instantaneously. Gojo quickly formed an X shape with his hands in front of his face, trying to protect himself. Numerous thin wooden splinters struck his hands, stabbing like sharp, narrow spikes. Gojo grunted in pain as some of the chips pierced his skin.
Carefully, he lowered his hands and looked ahead. Immediately, he realized the full extent of the destruction: the massive gate in front of him had been completely obliterated by a cannonball that must have struck directly in front of the door. Not only had the gate itself been destroyed, but the floor right in front of him now had a large, gaping hole, evidence of the immense force that had struck this spot.
Now that the gate of his room was completely destroyed, Gojo could finally see what was happening on the ship. Since his room was located on the deck floor, he had a clear view of the chaos around him. Numerous pirates of the Minnow Pirates were running frantically in all directions, trying desperately to avoid the relentless cannon fire. Up to this point, he could see at least three or four pirates lying on the deck, injured either by the impact of cannonballs or by the falling equipment from the ship.
Watching this scene of disorder, Gojo thought to himself, "This is the best chance I'm going to get. I should start moving immediately." With that determination, he carefully avoided the large hole that had opened on the right side of the path in front of him and began advancing. He had only taken three or four steps when another massive cannonball struck the ship, causing it to shake violently once again. Instinctively, Gojo grabbed hold of the wall on his left side to steady himself.
In front of him, a large wooden box fell from above, possibly from the right section of the ship. As soon as it hit the deck, it shattered violently, and a multitude of fruits spilled out, many of them crushed under the impact. Among all the scattered fruits, one rolled directly to his feet. This fruit was unusual — its structure was unlike any normal fruit Gojo had ever seen, whether from the memories of his current body in this world or from the memories of his life before transmigration, that is, on Earth.
Gojo picked up the fruit and examined it carefully. The fruit was entirely sky blue, with numerous eye-like patterns scattered across its surface, immediately capturing his attention. He wondered to himself, what kind of fruit is this? At that moment, an instinctive impulse seemed to surge in his chest, urging him to eat it immediately. Unable to resist the sudden desire, Gojo took a bite of the fruit.
The moment he began chewing, he realized the fruit was completely unpalatable. Its taste was so unpleasant that he immediately wanted to spit it out. However, since he had already chewed it, he reluctantly swallowed it instead. For several seconds after swallowing, nothing seemed to happen. Breathing a quiet sigh of relief, Gojo thought to himself, thank goodness it isn't poisonous. For a moment, I really thought this fruit might be deadly, but it seems it isn't.
Before he could finish thinking, the world around him suddenly changed. He could now see things he hadn't noticed just a few seconds ago. Layers of details appeared before his eyes, and, more than that, he could perceive the movements of the pirates — movements that had been difficult to track from his position moments earlier. He could not only see the Minnow Pirates running chaotically across the deck but also sense what they were about to do next.
In addition, he could now feel how many people were on this ship, and he also sensed another ship roughly twenty meters away, crowded with even more people. Although that ship was not directly in his line of sight, he could still 'see' it — or, more accurately, feel its structure and presence.
The sheer amount of information flooding into his senses was overwhelming. His eyes ached painfully, forcing him to close them immediately. The moment he shut his eyes, a wave of relief washed over him. Yet even with his eyes closed, he was still able to track the movements of all the pirates, as well as the opponents on the nearby ship.
Not only that, but with his eyes shut, he could also sense the space around him, feeling its contours and dimensions. Even more astonishing, he realized he could manipulate that space, creating seemingly limitless or infinite distance between himself and any other object around him.
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